Blog Archives

Six Four (2016)

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Posted on November 14, 2016 by Deni

For those who mark time in the West, 1989 was a common year, 365 days long. For Japan however, it was two years in one. The Japanese calendar is based on periods or eras, marked for every year of an emperor. 1989 was the year that Emperor Hirohito, the ruler that had seen the nation both into and out of the Second World War and beyond, died at the age of 87. He passed away on January 7, one week … (read more)

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Unforgiven (2013)

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Posted on April 14, 2014 by Deni

It’s nice to see some turn about being fair play in Lee Sang Il’s Japanese remake of Clint Eastwood’s 1992 cowboy eulogy, The Unforgiven, and in some historical sense it is in fact satisfyingly apt. The samurai period film and the American western have a long history of inter-relatedness, both thematically and as a matter of record. In 1954, inspired by the early films of American western directors like Howard Hawks and John Ford, Akira Kurosawa made what is … (read more)

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Ring: The Spiral (2000)

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Posted on March 12, 2007 by James

Of all the sequels and remakes to the first Ring film, Ring: The Spiral is the most successfully different. Filmed and released at the same time as the first film, it presents a kind of counter-story to the one dominated by Sadako in the rest of the franchise. Which isn’t to say the unfortunate supernatural wretch doesn’t make an appearance via the VHS fantastic and cause relentless, impossible strife. It’s just that this is really a film about a man’s … (read more)

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